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Obama was to meet with the South Korean President instead

Duterte says he is "not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people"

Vientiane, Laos (CNN)Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is expressing regret after his obscenity-laden rant against President Barack Obama prompted the White House to cancel planned bilateral talks between the two leaders.

Duterte, who cursed Obama as a "son of a bitch" Monday, said in a statement through his spokesman that he regretted "it came across as a personal attack on the US President."

"We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priorities and perceptions," the statement released on Tuesday read.

"Who does he think he is? I am no American puppet. I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people," Duterte scoffed in a speech Monday. "Son of a bitch, I will swear at you."

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Speaking at a business forum in Manila in December 2016, Duterte admitted killing suspected criminals during his time as mayor of Davao City.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

The day after Trump won the US presidential election in November 2016, Duterte said he and Trump share some traits.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

After reports emerged of a potentially blocked arms sale, Duterte told CNN Philippines in November 2016 that he would turn to Russia for weapons.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

During a state visit to China in October 2016, Duterte announced his economic and military 'separation' from the US.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

In October 2016 Duterte expressed growing hostility with the US president.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

After US president Barack Obama said he would raise extrajudicial killings in a meeting with Duterte, the Philippines President responded angrily on September 5, first in English then in Tagalog. As a result, Obama canceled the meeting.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

As he addressed troops at the country's Armed Forces Central Command Headquarters on August 5, Duterte recounted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to the country, saying in Tagalog that he was feuding with U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

The Philippines president-elect effectively said he supported vigilantism against drug dealers and criminals in a nationally televised speech in June 2016.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Foreign diplomats weighing in on Rodrigo Duterte's controversial remarks did not sit well with the then-mayor.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Duterte apologized to the Pope after cursing him for the traffic he caused during a 2015 Papal visit to the Philippines.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

In September 2016, Duterte likened himself to the Nazi leader and announced that he wants to kill millions of drug addicts.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Speaking at a press conference to unveil his new cabinet on May 31 2016, Rodrigo Duterte said journalists killed on the job in the Philippines were often corrupt.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

During the third and last presidential debate, Duterte had said that he would plant a Philippine flag in disputed territories should China refuse to recognize a favorable ruling for the Philippines.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Duterte made international headlines in April 2016 with his inflammatory comments on the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary that took place in Davao City.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

He also lashed out at the womens' group that filed a complaint against him before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

At a CNN Philippines Townhall event in February 2016, Duterte, admitted that he had three girlfriends and a common-law wife. His marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman was annulled due to his womanizing, but he denied this meant he objectified women.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Although he later denied the accusations, the former Davao City mayor admitted his links to the alleged Davao death squad in a May 2015 broadcast of his local television talk show.

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A statement from Duterte's office Tuesday claimed the "son of the bitch" insult was aimed at the journalist whose question prompted the fiery response, and not at Obama.

Obama has worked hard to develop the Philippines' partnership with the US and as a regional counterbalance to China. He's visited the country twice in his second term, and announced on a stop there in November the return of a US military presence at a critical naval base on the South China Sea.

But Duterte's derogatory comments and a spike in extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers put the relationship in stormier waters.

Obama and Duterte had been set to meet in Laos this week, where Obama is attending a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders. The statement from Duterte's spokesman said the "meeting has been mutually agreed upon to be moved to a later date."

Obama instead met Tuesday with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.

In his speech Monday, Duterte also blamed the United States for causing the unrest on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.

"As a matter of fact, we inherited this problem from the United States," he said. "Why? Because they invaded this country and made us their subjugated people. Everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killing. Why make an issue about fighting crime?"

Duterte highlights stain on US's colonial past

In his comments, Duterte referred to an infamous US massacre in the southern Philippines.

The US acquired the Philippines from Spain as a result of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which brought an end to the Spanish-American War.

Filipinos rose up against the US, waging a war that ended in 1902. But some of the Moro population -- a Muslim group in the south of the country -- continued to reject US rule, in what is known as the Moro Rebellion.

In 1906, an infamous battle took place in the volcanic crater of Bud Dajo on the southern island of Jolo.

US forces, equipped with firearms, routed the Moros, who used traditional weapons, leaving hundreds of them dead and only a handful of survivors.

The US's military victory proved a public relations disaster when it was revealed that women and children were among those killed.

Duterte was referring to the US's history as a colonial power in the Philippines, and specifically to one infamous massacre in the southern Philippines -- the 1906 Battle of Bud Dajo -- in which hundreds of Filipinos, including women and children, were killed.

"How many died? Six hundred," Duterte said Monday. "If (Obama) can answer that question and give the apology, I will answer him."

Obama indicated Monday he was wary of meeting with Duterte, suggesting the bombast could prevent making substantial progress between the two nations.

"If and when we have a meeting, this is something that is going to be brought up," Obama said, referring to the Philippines' controversial record of combating drug crime since Duterte took office earlier this year.

Later, on Monday afternoon, the White House announced the meeting was canceled.

The Philippines war on drugs

Since Duterte was elected, more than 1,900 people have died, including at least 700 in police operations that were part of the President's hard-line war on drugs.

"Double your efforts. Triple them, if need be. We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or [been] put behind bars -- or below the ground, if they so wish," Duterte said during his State of the Nation speech on July 25.

"(The) government is here to save our people from the drug menace and punish the offenders, including the big-time ones. The PNP (Philippines National Police) continues to investigate situations involving vigilante killings and operational aspects where deaths are reported."

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